With the arrival of new "extreme sports," fans of traditional sports are facing a shock wave of new and exciting activities with which they can get exercise and excitement at the same time. The most intriguing of these is the human hunting game, a grown-up version of capture-the-flag, known as paintball.

Picture two teams in a forest or field, in full battle uniform, with eye goggles and face and neck protection, setting out to battle each other with large convincing guns or blowguns.  Instead of bullets, however, these guns or blowguns are filled with tiny paint pellets that explode on impact covering the victim with splatters of brightly colored paint. Once a person receives one of these mortal injuries, they are unable to reach their objective and help the team. However, players can give as well as they receive. While both groups hunt for an object, they are also hunting each other, trying to prevent each other from surviving.  Basically, it amounts to kill or be killed. It's all just another fun day playing paintball.

Although the sport sounds dangerous, protective measures keep it relatively safe.  Experienced players get more injuries from cuts and bruises from the underbrush than from the actual shooting. Added protective gear such as sturdy boots, heavy clothing and goggles, keeps players safe from wayward bullets and rugged terrain. However, the activity is not pain free if your paintballs are cold. Shot from an air rifle or blowgun, the pellets cause a stinging sensation or some bruising depending on the distance of the shooter. Just another reason not to get hit. Overall, the sport is as safe as or safer than a day of football or tennis.  Groups find paintball to be a much more enjoyable experience. Besides the actual method of play, the urgent atmosphere and need for survival makes it a mental, as well as physical,
experience. Several hours of play in an afternoon are as exhausting as running for the same period of time because of the adrenaline rush the game provides.

Paintball fields are sprouting up all around the country as more and more people learn about the sport. Several web sites can be found under sports headings and a paintball magazine is published for enthusiasts to discuss strategy and equipment. Relatively inexpensive, around $15 to $25 for gear, blowguns, paintballs, and several hours of play, paintball is an enjoyable weekend activity. Some areas even have paintball leagues with set teams playing in a conference. Although it is unlikely it will ever become a professional or Olympic sport, paintball is a new and interesting activity to try. It is a demanding event, but it provides a player with self-reliance and confidence and creates a feeling of accomplishment with every minute of survival.

BlowgunsNorthwest.com has a large selection of paintballs and accessories for the .40 caliber , .50 caliber blowguns. Our paintballs are water soluble and come in many colors.  The .62 caliber blowguns do have paintballs and we have a lot of accessories for this blowgun as well that is used in survival type games.

Paintball, or paintball wars as it has grown to be known, is a team sport. Opposing teams consisting of many players and can consist of many teams, try to eliminate each other by shooting and marking players on other teams by using the Splatomatic filled with paintballs.  The paintballs are water soluble and while the paintballs cannot do any real damage, a hit will sting just enough to make it interesting. Protective eye goggles are absolutely essential and must be worn at all times when playing or watching a game.

The games talked about here in this article were designed with established fields in mind.  That is, the area is all set up, marked out, has flag stations and the like. If you read about a game you like, you can make variations to fit that game into your surrounding area.  Be creative but best of all, have fun!

When writing the rules, I tried not to insult your intelligence by mentioning painfully obvious facts. I figured I didn't have to tell you that the games start and end with a whistle or horn.  You will also notice that a lot of rules from the basic Capture the Flag game are repeated in each game. I've done this so you don't have to keep referring back to the original game and each game will stand on it's own.

I assume some of you have played these games or at least heard of them. For those of you who are familiar with paintball, check out the games you haven't heard about. I've listed all games I know about for those of you who are new to the sport of paintball. I don't make any claim that these games are original. I've collected these games from people who have played them, heard about them, or from some research I've done. I've put them together here in a formula for easy reference.

The duration of the games that are outlined are not written in stone. You can change the duration of any game to suit the field size, number of players, etc. Most of the games have objectives. You can simply let the game go on until the objective is met.

In the games I've listed, rules like head shots, gun shots and whether or not the ball has to break for it to be an elimination has been left out. Check your local field rules. If you are taking a group to a commercial field, clear the games you want to play with the owner of the field first. If field owners are unfamiliar with these games, make them aware as I'm sure they will find these games an interesting addition to the games they may already run on their field.  If you can't find a field in your local area, look into setting one up for you and your teammates. 

You may need to adapt the rules to your own particular needs. Remember that safety is always your number one concern. Play fast, play hard, but always play safe!

Speed ball was intentionally left out of this list. Games like this and other games requiring structures will already exist where the structures exist on the field. Not every field will have a speed ball course, a village or a fort. The reason for not including these types of games is an attempt to make these games universal. With a little preparation you should be able to play these games on any field in the world.

Speaking of fields, at the first of this introduction "established" fields were mentioned. This should not be confused with the term "commercial" fields that will be used later on in this article. What is being referred to here is a playing area already set up to play at least "Capture the Flag." Now, let's get on with it. Pick your game and have some fun!!

The game that started it all! This game consists of two teams. To set up for this game, set up two flag stations and two even teams are required. Two flags are hung in their respective flag stations. This is required. Two flags are hung in the other respective flag stations. This is required. Time limit is usually set for 30 minutes of play.

Rules:

1. All players must begin the game at their flag station (or assigned starting point) and cannot leave that area until the game begins.
2. Players who are hit are out of the game.
3. If a player is eliminated while he is carrying the flag, he must drop the flag where he was hit, or hang it on the nearest available object. Not another player!
4. Players who are eliminated may not, by word or gesture, indicate any intentions or locations of the opposing team members.
5. When a player is carrying the flag, it must remain visible at all times and must be carried in the hand, over the arm or around the neck.

Tactical Advantage:
The basic idea is to capture the flag. If you can avoid mixing it up with the other team, do so.  Also, if you do capture the flag, leave a couple of your players behind to slow down the opposition in case they are on THEIR way back with YOUR flag. You don't need to leave half of your team back to defend your flag. Only a couple of people are needed because the idea is not to stop the opposition from getting your flag, the idea is to slow them down and buy some time for the attackers. Besides, the more attackers you have the better it will be for you when you reach the opposition's flag station.

The attackers should also stay in a large group, if you break into small groups and you do run into the opposition, you're going to get nuked. There's safety in numbers.

This is a standard game of Capture the Flag, but players are only given 21 paintballs for the whole game. This is a good game if you want to mix high-tech and low-tech paint guns. A semi-auto really doesn't have much fire power advantage over a Splat master.

You need two even (number of people) teams for this game. Set up two flag stations. This is required. You will need two even teams, required. Two flags are hung in their respective flag stations, required. Players are only allowed to have 21 paintballs. The time limit for this game is 30 minutes.

Rules:

1. Players are not allowed to "share" paintballs.
2. When a player shoots all his paintballs, he or she is out of the game.
3. All players must begin the game at their flag station (or assigned starting point) and cannot leave that area until the game begins.
4. Players who are hit are out of the game.
5. If a player is eliminated while he is carrying the flag, he must drop the flag where he was hit or hang it on the nearest available object, not another player.
6. Players who are eliminated may not, by word or gesture, indicate any intentions or locations of the opposing team members.
7. When a player is carrying the flag, it must remain visible at all times and must be carried in the hand, over the arm or around the neck.

Tactical Advantage:
The best tactic is to stay together. One player has 21 paintballs, two players have 42 paintballs, three players have 63 paintballs. I'm sure you get the idea.

The teams must sally forth 'neath flags unfurled and charge into the ranks of the enemy! You need two teams for this game. Set up two flag stations, required. Two even teams are required. Two flags are hung in their respective flag stations, required. Time limit for this game is 20 minutes.

Rules:

1. All players must begin the game at their flag station (or assigned starting point) and cannot leave that area until the game begins.
2. Players who are hit are out of the game.
3. If a player is eliminated while he is carrying the flag, he must drop the flag where he was hit, or hang it on the nearest available object, not another player.
4. Players who are eliminated may not, by word or gesture, indicate any intentions or locations of the opposing team members.
5. When a player is carrying the flag, it must remain visible at all times and must be carried in the hand, over the arm or around the neck.

Tactical Advantage:
The best thing to do is absolutely forbid the appointed flag carrier to engage if you meet the opposition. Assign at least two people to guard him at all times and assign alternates to stay in the general area to replace the guards if they are eliminated. Leave defenders behind.

Two teams must try to eliminate the other team's captain. Two teams are needed here.

Setting Up:

1. Two flag stations.
2. Two even teams.
3. One member of the team is selected to be the Captain.
4. The teams are brought to their respective flat stations.
5. The Captain is tied to one end of a 20-foot rope, the other end is tied to an immobile object such as a tree or fence post.
6. To add a little spice into the game, the Captain is not tethered, but his paint gun is.
7. Another variation is to limit all players to twenty paintballs while not limiting the amount of paint a Captain can carry.

Rules:

1. The Captain cannot undo his tether.
2. All players must begin the game at their flag station (or assigned starting point) and cannot leave that area until the game begins.
3. Players who are hit are eliminated from the game.
4. Players who are eliminated may not, by word or gesture, indicate any intentions or locations of the opposing team members.
5. If playing the tethered paint gun variation, the Captain can abandon his paint gun, but cannot use another paint gun.
6. If you use the limited paint option, players cannot share paintballs.

Tactical Advantage:
Assign an appropriate number of players to guard the Captain at the flag station. If playing the tethered paint gun variation, this group must stay with the Captain at all times.

Another tactic is to have the whole team stay back to defend and wait for the other team. No matter how long it takes, wait for them to show up. They may be trying the same thing. The team with the most patience will usually win this one.

Two players settle an affair of honor. This is a good tie breaker and something to do if you're eliminated early.

Teams:
Two players are the duelists, with a third player as the Warder.

Setting Up:
A clear area is required so that both players can pace off ten paces each.

Rules:

1. Two players stand back to back. The Warder is standing about ten feet to the side.
2. Both players are armed with pistols. The pistols each have one paintball in them ready to fire. The paint guns can have no other paintballs in them. This is a one shot deal.
3. The Warder then says, "This, Gentlemen, is an affair of honor. You will take ten paces on my command, then turn and fire. If either of you turn before the count of ten, it will be my unfortunate duty to shoot you down." (Or something to that effect).
4. The duelists then pace off in time to the Warder's count. At the count of ten they turn and fire.
5. The paintball has to break for the elimination to count.
6. Players cannot side step or lie down, but they may kneel if they wish.
7. No other rules apply.

Tactical Advantage:
The best way is to take your time. The first person to shoot usually isn't the winner. Also, keep your paint gun down and don't raise it until you are facing the target and then bring it up. If you lift your paint gun first and then turn, you are moving the paint gun horizontally to engage what is essentially a vertical target.

Groups of five go into the field and slug it out in this "elimination only" game.

Teams:
Multiple five man teams.

Setting Up:

1. Set up multiple five man teams.
2. The maximum limit is four teams for every acre of playing area.
3. Place teams in the area so that they are not in line of sight of each other.
4. To make score keeping easier, the teams may be accompanied by a referee and each team shoots their own distinct color of paint.

Rules:

1. Teams will stay in their starting points until the "Start of Game" signal.
2. The team gets a point for each elimination it inflicts on the other team.
3. There are no points for surviving members of the team.
4. All players must begin the game at their flag station (or assigned starting point) and cannot leave that area until the game begins.
5. Players who are hit are out of the game.
6. Players who are eliminated may not, by word or gesture, indicate any intentions or locations of the opposing team members.

Tactical Advantage:
One thing you'll learn REAL quick, WATCH YOUR BACK AND FLANKS! People will figure out really quick that while two teams are slugging it out, it's real easy to drop in and blind side one team and then take off. Don't hang around, get a couple of eliminations and get out of there.